It’s easy, relatively speaking, to be the marketing team of a “fun” brand, one with naturally compelling images and a great story. But how do you market seemingly boring, but necessary brands? Things like insurance and toilet paper? In the latest post for our Chasing Perception blog, we take a look at how four high-profile brands have kept their brand image in the spotlight with great success, and while keeping up with changing forms of media. Check out what we can learn from these brands.

Geico: Insurance is the most boring thing on the planet. And yet, Geico put a lizard on TV and made it fun. By telling the story of an anthropomorphic British gecko who loves his job as an insurance salesman, Geico became a household name, business exploded, and people look forward to the Geico ads during the Super Bowl, (along with the much more traditionally entertaining products like beer and cars). Not only can 15 minutes save you 15% or more on car insurance, but with a talking Gecko, 15 seconds is also all it takes to convince people to call.

Charmin: How do you sell something as generic as toilet paper in a funny way, without alienating a huge part of your base with bathroom humor? You start the #tweetfromtheseat campaign for twitter, while providing more informational materials on your other platforms. Charmin’s brilliant branding appeals to both moms and college students with fuzzy bears, a historically useful product, and getting silly on social media. Recently voted the “sassiest brand on Twitter” and with sales numbers to prove success, Charmin has brought a ‘boring’ product into the spotlight.

Old Spice: Soap is soap, right? But who could you be if you use that soap? That’s what makes Old Spice stand out. The brand’s entire marketing campaign is focused on a seemingly perfect man who has it all and who all women want. All you have to do to be like him? Use Old Spice. It’s entertaining, it’s funny, it’s self-deprecating at times, and it goes viral. Most importantly, it sells something as simple as soap to multiple generations.

General Electric: It’s hard for B2B brands to transition to social media or create compelling advertisements. GE sells machines to industrial markets, and though very useful, it’s not exactly the stuff Instagram campaigns are made of. Still, GE’s products are innovative, and they take that to social media, speaking to investors, employees, future employees, and consumers through a platform on Pinterest. Here, customers can learn about GE products, ask questions, and share their own innovative ideas. The takeaway? Engineering is needed, engineering is cool, and when it comes to engineering, GE is the best.

Are you interested in learning how to translate your story into something compelling and valuable to your audiences? Get in touch with us at tech@indicatemedia.com.